Elevator Music
by readergn
Summary: Bella moved to New York for college, met two roommates who became sisters and together they found Apartment 44. Life was normal, until a chance encounter at a garage brought another trio into their lives. Apartment 44 is about to get interesting...
1. Chapter 1: Apartment 44

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters_

Chapter One: Number 44

BPOV

There's something about elevator music that just annoys the crap out of me. Whether you're in a great mood where you can't wait for the doors to open or a terrible mood dreading the moment when you have to step out, there's just something about those monotonous tunes that makes you want to hunt down that criminal who composed such a frustrating little ditty and lock them in a lift until they can't stand the sound of their monstrous creation any more.

Vindictive, maybe. But after an 8am lecture on European Literature followed by a grueling five hour shift trying to avoid your creepy coworker, I am really not in the mood for annoying elevator music. I just want to get to my couch.

And yet sometimes I find myself drawing rather embarrassing and depressing links between this annoying little song and my life. Yes, it is official. Bella Swan's life is elevator music. The same day in, day out. Endlessly frustrating and monotonous. Such a positive outlook. I mean, things didn't used to be this… boring. A couple of years back I was all excited about finally getting out of my hometown of Forks and finally escaping what I thought was the most boring place on earth, and starting my own life. Little did I know that boredom seems to follow me wherever I go.

I sighed in relief as that infuriating music stopped and the doors opened and, slinging my bag over my shoulder, I made my way across the floor to my door. Apartment Number 44. Home sweet home.

Music met me as I unlocked the door and closed it behind me. It was a weird track, a kind of mix of oriental chanting and meditation music. I couldn't help but smirk and shake my head as I looked across the room. Alice.

Sitting cross legged on the floor in front of our coffee table was one of my room mates, the effervescent and quixotic Alice Brandon. She was sitting in a typical meditation pose, her eyes closed as she breathed in an out to the music, sketched papers strewn across the table in front of her.

'Hey Bells' she said without turning around as I chucked my bag on the kitchen bench.

'Meditating again Alice?' I asked with a laugh as I checked any messages on the notepad next to the phone.

'Yep. Trying to incite some creative juices.'

I laughed. Alice really was one of a kind.

We'd met on the first day of College, both having moved from other states to the good city of New York. Me from Forks, her from Alaska.

I'd had my nose in a map, trying to navigate my way to my dorm while struggling under the weight of my bags. I'd made it to my room, opened the door, and found this little pixie bouncing on a bed, a huge grin on her face as I staggered into her room.

After grabbing some of my bags and ushering me into what she'd decided was my room, she proceeded to hang everything up in my cupboard for me, scrutinizing my severe lack of style all the way.

That was one of the first things that I learnt about Alice. She was a fashion major, now a quickly growing designer, and saw most of what I deemed 'comfy and affordable' as 'a slap in the face to the fashion profession'. So now my entire wardrobe was full of memories of our frequent battles. She'd try to give me 'style', whilst I held onto my comfy sweater for dear life.

It was a regular routine.

And so it wasn't an unusual thing for me to walk into our apartment and find my best friend meditating on the floor as she sketched.

She liked to try weird things like that.

I grimaced as I looked at the phone messages written down for me.

_Bells,_ she'd written, _Mike called again. Wants to know about dinner this Friday. Ugh._

Mike. My coworker from the coffee shop who had a seriously issue with understanding the word 'No'. He'd been subtly or not so subtly asking me out on a daily basis ever since I'd started working at the Coffee House a month ago. Apparently he couldn't take a hint.

I scrunched the paper up, not bothering to call back. Goodness knows I've tried enough times.

'Rose home?' I asked Alice as I made my way to my room, changing into an oversized jumper.

'In the bathroom Bells' another voice answered for me, and I smiled as my other roommate Rose appeared.

Rosalie Hale, a woman who never ceases to amaze you. Tall, blonde and breathtakingly beautiful, Rose worked as a part time model when she wasn't working at the garage. Yeah, Rose the beauty is a mechanic. Strange, I know.

I'd been completely terrified and intimidated by Rosalie when she'd first walked into that dorm, carrying her designer bags.

She'd raised an eyebrow, I'd swallowed heavily, and we'd stared at each other awkwardly for a minute before she grinned.

'Rosalie Hale.' She'd said, sticking out her hand, 'Mechanical Engineering.'

Like I said, always takes you by surprise.

I'd smiled in return, shaking her hand.

'Bella Swan, European literature.'

She smiled at me as she put her bag down

'So Bella, do we have this dorm to ourselves or is there some crazy roommate that I need to worry about?'

I'd paused.

'Well, actually…'

A squeal resonated through the room, interrupting me as the pixie bounded back into the room.

Rose looked at me, and we both burst out laughing.

'I'm guessing this is the crazy roommate.'

I laughed as Alice nodded, grabbing Rose's bags and leading her to her room.

'Alice Brandon, fashion and design.'

And that was how it all began. We'd gone through college together, almost inseparable, until a few months ago both Rose and Alice graduated (a year before my degree finished). So rather than spending my last year there alone we'd decided to get an apartment together in the city, which was how we ended up at good old number 44. We'd only moved in a few weeks ago, and the redecoration process was still well underway. Of course the apartment didn't actually need redecorating, but living with Alice meant that it was simply assumed that nothing would stay the same.

It was these girls who brought my boring life out of the elevator music. We'd laughed and cried together, had broken hearts and spent countless nights sitting in front of the tv eating take away. They were my sisters and my best friends, despite our differences. Sure, they were both amazingly beautiful and talented whilst I dulled in comparison. They both had direction and knew what they wanted to do when I had this faint dream of becoming a writer. They both had their quirky traits like Alice's short lived phases of obsession (the most recent seemed to be oriental music) and Rose's phobia of the colour pink (ironic considering her name) while I was just plain. But we fitted together, and this little Apartment Number 44 had a good year ahead of it.

I just wish that they'd change that damn music.


	2. Chapter 2: Laws and Wars

Our Friday nights had a pretty regular routine.

Alice went into the office in the morning and spent a few hours yelling at models and poor intern workers who, as she put it 'couldn't tell the difference between chiffon and the backside of an elephant' (Alice has rather unique insulting techniques). See, having recently graduated Alice was starting up her own fashion label, but in order to do that she had to work through a larger corporation to get the funds.

So she provided the 'creative juices', and the company in turn got a part of her sales for letting her use their facilities and helping with marketing etc. Sounds like a sweet deal I know, but never underestimate the evil power of the corporation. Alice, the sweetest most bubbly person known to mankind has been driven to insanity on various occasions by the 'celery diet snobs' that she has to work with. Never being one who enjoyed obeying the rules, the whole 'corporation guidelines' thing didn't really mesh will with our dear Alice. Hence the yelling and shouting at the office in the morning.

Being Alice though, by the time she was out of the office and had suitably calmed down through some good hard retail therapy, she would return home her usual vibrant self and start redecorating the house.

Around five, Rose would get back from the garage and head straight to the shower, as per 'The Laws of Apartment 44'.

The Laws were one of the weird quirks that we'd developed since living here.

Pretty soon after moving in, a few disastrous occasions involving Rose's oil smeared overalls, Alice's new couch throw, a broken bookshelf and some concerned neighbours resulted in the creation of 'The Laws'. Now up to number 7, the Laws were well, law in our house. Break them and suffer the wrath.

So in compliance to law number 1 Rosalie would remove all traces of the garage before hanging out with Alice for an hour until I finished my shift at 6.

This was our regular Friday routine, broken only by the occasional late night at work or date.

Which is why, at 7pm tonight we are sitting in our pajamas fighting over which take away place to go to.

'Alice, we are not going back to some hippy Asian place just to placate your newest fad!'

Rose's voice was frustrated as she tried to wrestle the menu from the grips of the pixie, standing on the coffee table in front of her.

'It's not a fad Roe, I'm feeling inspired! Don't take my.. inspiration.. away!'

I couldn't help but laugh as Alice finally ripped the menu from Rose's hands, holding it up grinning, doing the customary victory dance.

'Ha! I won Rose, now we're going to get…'

Her face furrowed in confusion as she tried to find something understandable on her victorious menu.

'Um guys, do either of you speak Chinese?'

With a growl Rosie jumped onto the table

'I am not eating from a menu that we can't read Alice!'

And thus the struggle for the choice of dinner began.

I sighed as they rolled over the table, fighting for the bit of paper.

They really were stubborn some times.

Shaking my head, I got off my observers position on the couch and went over to the phone, unnoticed by my psychotic room mates.

'Hey, Thai Cuisine? Can I have delivery for three please.'

I looked over my shoulder as the guy on the phone babbled, laughing at the two on the floor.

Alice was sitting on top of Rose, holding the menu in her teeth while she held Rose's arms down with hers.

For a pixie, that girl is strong.

They paused for a moment until Rose grinned and grabbed the menu with her teeth, growling at Alice and throwing her off her.

Alice may be strong, but Rose is a mechanic.

Doing the victory dance, Rose made her way over to me just as I hung up the phone.

'Looks like it's pizza tonight Bells!'

I laughed and headed over to the DVD's, hoping to get a selection out before another war broke out.

'Sorry Roe, already ordered Thai.'

The look on her face was priceless.

'You snooze you lose.'

***

Having eaten our body weight in Thai food and fought yet again over what movie to watch, we had finally crashed in our usual spots in the lounge room. Rose on the couch, Alice in the weird egg shaped chair that we'd picked up when in a really strange mood and me on a massive pile of cushions. Our lounge room had eclectic taste. We were sitting in comfortable silence, none of us really feeling the need to say anything.

Well, that was until Alice squealed.

When I say squealed, I mean really squealed.

See when Alice gets excited, she makes this strange 'EEP' noise that should probably be illegal in any room with glass. Or with people who aren't deaf.

So our Friday night silence was broken by Alice's 'Eep!' and she suddenly possessed our attention.

Her eyes gleamed with excitement as she began bouncing in the egg chair.

I turned my head to look at her while Rose groaned and rolled over.

Please don't let this be a proclamation of a new fad.

'Guess who is working tomorrow…!'

I snorted, ten guesses who…

'Alice, you're just going to tell us anyway so why keep us in suspense' Rose grumbled sarcastically with a smile.

Alice beamed

'Jasper!!'

Lying my head back down, I laughed as Alice began chatting away about her upcoming day.

Ah Jasper, the highlight of Alice's week.

Jasper was this photographer who Alice had met while she was shooting one of her new lines a few months ago, and she hadn't shut up about him since. He's a great guy, we've met him once or twice on the occasion when Rose or I have helped Alice out at a shoot.

Tall and blonde, Jasper is pretty quiet, which is more than made up for by Alice. But he's one of those people who you can just tell is thinking more than he's saying, and we've had some pretty good chats while we've both been waiting for Alice. Rose and I are just counting down the days til they get together, the chemistry is obvious to anyone with eyes. Or ears.

'…so we have our final shoot tomorrow morning and Jasper is our photographer! So I get to talk to him all morning…'

'Ali, aren't you guys meant to be working?' Rose interrupted with a smile, laughing when Alice poked her tongue out.

Ah maturity how we love thee.

'Shut up Rose. As I was saying, we can talk all morning and it's going to be great because I haven't seen him in ages…'

Having been friends with Alice for a few years, you learn just to tune out after a while. A few murmurs and nods are enough to keep her going until she runs out of steam.

She kept going while Rose turned to look at me

'You working in the morning?' She whispered, not that Alice noticed.

I nodded. 'til 12'

She smiled, 'I get off at one. Want to get lunch?'

Before I could answer Alice cut in

'Oh, did I mention that I really need some help tomorrow? And since you are my kind and loving friends I assumed that you would help me after you finish work.'

She smiled evilly at me as I groaned.

'Come on Bella, you can use this as an excuse to get away from Mike earlier.'

I shot her a loot

'Thanks for reminding me Alice, seeing Mike tomorrow is not something that I want to be thinking about right now.'

She cackled

'Sorry Bells, but you're just going to have to get used to his stalkerish tendencies. Unless you want to file a police report, which come to think of it might not be a bad idea…'

And off she goes again.

I lay back with a groan.

Tomorrow is going to be a great day.


End file.
